1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to operable wall panels movable to partition large rooms into smaller rooms.
2. Description of the Related Art
Operable walls or partitions, also known as movable wall panel systems, find useful application in a variety of venues, such as classrooms, offices, convention centers, hospitals, etc. In these venues, the operable walls can be utilized to efficiently divide or compartmentalize interior space into a multitude of separate, smaller rooms. In particular, the operable wall panels are typically connected by a hanging device to trolleys that roll within an overhead track. Travel of the trolleys within the track allows the panels to be moved between a stacked arrangement in a storage location, and a wall-forming, extended arrangement in alignment with the overhead track.
One type of movable wall panel system is a continuously hinged system in which each operable panel is typically hinged to adjacent panels. Continuously hinged wall panel systems are frequently electrically driven between stacked and extended positions. When arranged in a proper stacked position, the operable partitions are folded over one another accordion style with each panel being oriented generally transverse to an overhead track. Also included in some systems of this type is a lead panel swing or latch device that swings open the lead panel to a straight wall-forming position as it is propelled from the stacked position.
To aid in forming and maintaining a straight wall, some movable wall panel systems include a guide rail or angular member along both sides of the track, thus forming a channel that guides the top of the wall panels. However, the top of the wall panels often jam or bind in channels having a guide rail on both sides of the track.
Alternatively, other movable wall panel systems include only a single guide rail on one side of the track and wall panels. This arrangement, however, does not prevent the wall panels from unfolding toward the unguided side of the track. Some wall panel systems using a single guide rail use guide blocks on the exterior of the panels to form a channel that follows the single guide rail along an exterior side of the panels.
Despite the use of guide blocks, several problems remain with this guide rail configuration. Most components, including the guide rail and blocks, are located on the exterior of the panel and track, and are exposed when the wall is in both the extended and the stacked position. This arrangement causes exterior pinch points, protruding and visible components, and worn finishes on the exposed top portion of the panels and on the exposed guide rail components.
Thus, a need remains for an apparatus that aids in forming and maintaining an extended straight wall of movable wall panels and prevents misalignment, drifting, and binding of the wall panels without the disadvantages of the aforementioned solutions.
The present invention provides a flattener apparatus for a movable wall system having a track assembly. The flattener apparatus includes a flattener member having a base flange attached at the bottom of the track assembly and a guide flange depending vertically downward from the base flange. The flattener apparatus eliminates misalignment, drifting and binding of the wall panel in the extended wall forming position.
According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided a movable wall panel system that includes a track assembly supported between two opposing walls and a plurality of continuously hinged panels movably coupled to the track assembly by hangers. The wall panels may be stowed in a folded stacked position at one end of the track assembly or may be extended and unfolded forming a wall extending along the track assembly. The flattener apparatus provides a means for holding the panels in an extended aligned orientation along the length of the track.
The track assembly includes a stack portion for storing the folded wall panels, an adjacent extension portion where the wall panels are unfolded and extended as they are pulled from the stack, and a remaining portion of the track assembly supporting the wall panels of the extended wall.
In one embodiment, the flattener apparatus includes an angular flattener member having a base flange attached to the bottom of the track assembly and a guide flange depending vertically downward from the base flange. The flattener member spans a portion of the track but does not span the track portion for stacking panels or the track portion for extending wall panels.
The flattener apparatus includes a vertical channel defined by the top end of the wall panels. The vertical channel receives the guide flange of the flattener member as the wall panels are extended toward the portion of the track adjacent the flattener member. Once a wall panel is extended to the flattener member and the guide flange is received in the vertical channel, the wall panel is held aligned with the axis of the track. Thus, the wall panels form a straight wall held in alignment by the flattener apparatus. Because the vertical channel receives the guide flange, the part of the wall panel contacting the guide flange and the guide flange itself are not visible once the wall is extended. Thus, wear and tear on the finishes of the components are not visible and pinch points are eliminated.
In one embodiment, one side of the vertical channel of the flattener apparatus is defined by a sealing sweep that is located along a portion of the top end of the wall panels and adjacent to a face of the wall panel. The other side of the vertical channel is defined by a guide pin protruding vertically from the top end of the panel and located between the sealing sweep and the other opposite face of the wall panel. As a wall panel is unstowed from the storage portion and moved toward the portion of the track having the flattener member, the guide flange is received between the sweep and the guide pin. The end of the sweep may also have a clip to prevent the guide flange from turning the sweep inward toward the guide pin. The guide pin can include a smooth curved surface or can include a wheel or roller rotatably connected to the guide pin.
In another aspect, the flattener member can be an aluminum extruded member having a base flange fastened to the track assembly and a guide flange extending vertically downward along its length. The track assembly includes a slot along its length that is defined by the bottom of the track and is for receiving the hangers which suspend the wall panels from the track. The flattener member is advantageously attached to the track assembly so that the guide flange is located adjacent to one of the sides of the slot. The guide flange is positioned on the side of the track from which the leading edge of the lead wall panel swings off the stack when unstowed and extended.
In a further aspect, the base flange and the guide flange can have adjacent faces for contacting the top and the hidden interior side of the sealing sweep. Thus, as the guide flange engages the channel between the guide pin and the sealing sweep, the flattener apparatus holds the wall panel aligned with the axis of the track and seals the space between the wall panel and the track.
In still another aspect, the flattener member spans a substantial portion of the track assembly, but does not span an area equal to the length of the track occupied by the folded and stored wall panels and the portion of the track used to unfold and extend the panels. The portion of the track used to unfold and extend the panels is about two and one-half times the width of a wall panel.
One object of the invention is to provide a flattener apparatus that can hold the wall panel in a straight wall-forming position, eliminating misalignment, drifting, and binding of the wall panels as they are extended. Another object is to remove apparatus components from view when the movable wall is in the extended position.
The flattener apparatus of the present invention is reliable, has simple, inexpensive components, and is easy to construct and assemble. Because the guide flange is received in a vertical channel defined inside the wall panel, external pinch points and unsightly worn finishes are eliminated.
These and other objects of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description of the exemplary embodiments.